Aether, meanwhile, was just kicked by a cow.
One may probably wonder how he got into this situation. Well, the answer was, it all started in the morning.
When Rex Lapis had told him that Xiao had officially become an adult today, Aether was caught in a crisis in which he was unprepared for such an occasion. After several minutes of thinking, he had come to a conclusion that he could make some almond tofu for Xiao.
The previous Xiao had loved it, so why not this one? Even better, the current Xiao had no idea that almond tofu existed, and Aether was sure that he would be happy with almond tofu as his present.
The question was: how was he going to make it without Xiao knowing? He supposed...he could make an excuse and excuse himself. Xiao might find it suspicious, but he trusted Aether, so chances of him following were low.
But then, the world decided to send its obstacle in the form of an adepti.
This adepti had long, brown curly hair with streaks of red through it. Her red short dress was decorated with designs of orange swirls like flames, and on her hip, there hung a menacing mask. With only a few adepti blessed with masks, Aether suspected that she was a future Yaksha.
"Heyo, Aether!"
Twirling towards him, she grabbed his arm and hauled him onto his feet much to his surprise.
"I'll be borrowing Aether for a while if you don't mind, my Lord!" she giggled.
Rex Lapis simply nodded and continued sipping on his tea while Aether was forcefully dragged away against his will.
He really hoped that Xiao would not be mad if he was a little late.
Once out of Rex Lapis' earshot, the girl finally freed Aether's arm and turned towards him, a playful grin on her lips and hands on her hip.
"So, Aether! I'm Indarias. Not sure if you remember seeing my face around, but nice to meet you!"
She then excitedly extended a hand towards Aether. Aether, not really sure where this is going, simply decided to go with the flow and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Indarias," Aether said. "I gather that you heard of me?"
"Of course I've heard of you!" she squealed, hopping one foot to the other. "You're Xiao's boyfriend, of course I'd know of-"
"H-hold up-" Aether stuttered, totally taken off guard. Boyfriend? They were just roommates! And really good friends!
"Hm?" Indarias tilted her head. "Are you not his boyfriend?"
"No..."
Although, the thought of being called Xiao's boyfriend made his brain overheat. Xiao would...probably not pick someone like him. He had come to terms in these past two years that he liked Xiao more than best friends, but who's to say Xiao felt the same way?
Even so, the idea of being Xiao's boyfriend sounded...nice.
Indarias pouted. "You guys really do act all lovey-dovey though. Hard to believe you guys aren't dating."
"Ah, were we?" Aether nervously laughed. By the Seven, if everyone thought the same thing...Aether wasn't sure how he should feel about this.
"This is truly a revelation," Indarias murmured to herself. Then, in her normal cheery tone again, she said, "Anywayzzz! I'm planning to throw a party for Xiao! Everyone is in on it, except for Rex Lapis. No offence to our Lord but he'll probably accidentally end up spoiling the surprise, so he doesn't know yet. I'd probably be ready once the sun sets, so can you distract Xiao till then?"
"Y-yeah, sure." He just knew that he needed to distract Xiao for a surprise party. Indarias talked so fast that most of what she said just went in one ear and out the other.
Looking over his shoulder, Indarias clapped her hands and pushed him back towards the common area. "Your boy- I mean, uh, Xiao is waiting for you! Now go and enjoy your da- have fun!"
Xiao, who had been standing there with his arms crossed, slitted golden eyes scanning around, saw Aether. Instantly, he uncrossed his arms and smiled.
"Sorry, I got caught up on some stuff," Aether apologised.
"Don't need to fret over it," Xiao said, cool as ever. "Ready to leave?"
"Yeah!" Aether exclaimed. "Let's go show that whopperflower who's boss!"
Only a few minutes later did he realise, with the task Indarias had given him, he would barely have time to find ingredients to make almond tofu, much less make it.
So now here he was. Getting kicked in the face by a cow because he was trying to get some milk.
At least he had gotten enough milk in the end. Thank the Seven that his suffering was not in vain. Opening his spacial bag, he double checked that he had enough ingredients for making a dish of almond tofu.
Sugar, check. Almonds, check. Milk that he sacrificed his face for, check.
Now he just has to find somewhere to cook and he'll be ready to go.
Luckily, he found one with ease. An unlit campfire with a stove hanging from three precariously tied up branches. Finding a set of matches nearby, he lit the fire, the crackling heat of the flames warming him up.
It took him some time to fully complete the dish, but when all was said and done, he was proud that he still could make some almond tofu after two years of not trying.
With a spoon, he scooped up a tiny portion to test the taste.
Oh, that tasted good. Aether gave himself a fist pump as the almond tofu melted in his mouth, smooth and just with enough sweetness. He really does hope that Xiao will enjoy this gift from the future.
Once the almond tofu was packed carefully in his spacial bag, Aether teleported back to Mount Aocang. As stealthily as possible, he made his way to the entrance of the adepti's abode. Breathing in, he slowly opened the door.
The sight was enough to take his breath away. The adepti...really did go all out with Xiao's party. Especially the ice sculpture of a vermilion bird, with its wings open, as if about to take flight, made Aether gape in wonder. Gods and adepti roamed about, laughing, eating and dancing to traditional Liyuen music played by a band of adepti.
"THERE HE IS!"
A flaming ball of fire was all Aether could recognise before he was road roller-ed over. Aether yelped as he fell onto the floor, unable to get up as someone was sitting on him.
"I'VE FOUND AETHER!" that someone yelled, seemingly enjoying crushing his spine.
Aether looked up and was exasperated to find Indarias the adepti behind this. She hummed sweetly as two figures came running towards them. And one of them was...
"Oh, um, hey, Xiao," Aether said sheepishly. From the floor. While being sat on by Indarias. With everyone watching.
Celestia, please ascend him already this is embarrassing.
"Wh-" Xiao looked at Aether, then at Indarias, then at Aether again. He looked like he had a lot of things to say.
"Indarias," said Rex Lapis who had accompanied Xiao. "Aether is going to die if you continue to sit on him."
"I won't die," Aether mumbled, but was grateful anyway when the weight on his back was lifted.
Before Aether could get up, he found a hand offered to him. Looking up, he realised that Xiao was offering him a hand, his cheeks dusted a little red.
Oh, what a sight.
"T-thanks," Aether stuttered. Taking his hand, Aether got onto his feet with Xiao's help.
And...it got a little awkward after that. Aether wanted to give the almond tofu to Xiao, but with the ogling crowd, he found that he was unable to bring himself to do so.
Then, a blessing came in the form of Guizhong, who walked up to them and turned to the crowd.
"Show's over, everyone!" she shouted. "Go back to partying! Nothing more to see here!"
After some mumbling, the music started up again and everyone else went back to what they were doing. Aether sighed. He felt like he had just gotten off a stage.
"Thanks, Guizhong," Aether said gratefully.
"It's no problem, sweeties." The goddess of dust smiled. Then, leaning in closer to Aether, she whispered, "Now go and give him your present, tiger."
H-how did she know?
As swiftly as she came, she left, but this time dragging Rex Lapis with her.
Xiao was refusing to look at him. He was staring really intensely at a bottle of wine, which Aether knew, he totally hated.
So, mustering up his courage, Aether said, "Let's go somewhere quieter, shall we?"
A/N:
Aether and Xiao: *flirts like 24/7*
Also them: Not dating
Everyone: 👁️👄👁️??